Creator Blog #2 | Jumpstart on YouTube
Added 2022-07-14 14:00:07 +0000 UTCI'm extremely proud that the community has grown to 10K. But I have to admit I owe a great deal of that success to a couple of YouTube courses I took early on.
The first course I took was around the time I published my fifth video. This was "The YouTube Creator Academy" by Graham Stephan. I had to think long and hard about purchasing the course because it cost a decent amount of money for me (even after getting a huge discount from Graham’s channel). I could have used that money instead to buy a microphone, tripod, or any other essentials. But I had to keep reminding myself that investing doesn’t just mean buying equipment. It also means investing in the non-tangibles like knowledge and skills. Graham's course is great when you need a quick start to launch. And a lot of the focus is on making a sustainable living from YouTubing. It truly was an investment. At the time, it was the best use of my limited funds.
A couple of months ago, I took a second course which was "Master YouTube" by Matt D'Avella. That too cost a bit but the value I got from the course was priceless. Matt's course is great if you're in it for the long haul. It’s for when you want to pour your heart and soul into the content you produce, yet take care of your mental health. The focus of the course is doing the best work you can as a creator while building a meaningful relationship with your community.
If you are a creator (or if you know someone who is) and are looking for resources, check these two out.
YouTube Creator Academy by Graham Stephan: https://bit.ly/3aosdPp
Master YouTube by Matt D'Avella: https://bit.ly/3aqxxl6
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In the photo: It was extremely hard to get to 1000 subscribers. Even harder than that was getting to 100 subscribers. Actively updating this board each time there was a new subscriber helped me value Every. Single. Subscriber. Because these were the people who believed in the channel even when the channel had no clout.
Comments
Thanks Jim! I appreciate it. 😊
2022-07-14 16:17:08 +0000 UTCThea, you do a great job. I’ll be honest, part of the appeal is that you provide the salient information in a easily digestible format. There’s another YT’er out there that I also follow but it’s clear she’s a marketer and it’s driving her recommendations a bit. I like her and she’s good at what she does but I’m not into that. I don’t get that “marketing” vibe watching your posts, which I appreciate. Whatever strategy you’re using - it seems to be working.
Jim Allen
2022-07-14 15:46:50 +0000 UTCOK, thanks Thea
Mark Finley
2022-07-14 15:40:00 +0000 UTCHonestly if you could only pick one, I would recommend Matt's course. It's very well put together.
2022-07-14 15:17:22 +0000 UTCI think you've seen some of my videos, which one do you think would be better for me?
Mark Finley
2022-07-14 14:53:24 +0000 UTCHe opens up enrollment sporadically. I was on the waitlist for a couple of months. As for Graham's, you can get a discount code on his channel. He puts it in the video description. So here's the thing... Graham is all about using SEO and understanding algorithm to get the views. Matt is all about making videos so good you don't need algorithm.
2022-07-14 14:47:11 +0000 UTCThanks I'll look into it. A community of users who can offer constructive criticism or suggestions sounds good
Mark Finley
2022-07-14 14:42:36 +0000 UTCHey Mark. For what it’s worth, YouTube is one of the hardest (if not the hardest) platforms to grow. Instagram is probably the easiest IMO. So hang in there. It is indeed extremely frustrating at times. I think a lot of YouTubers don’t make it to 1000 simply because they give up because that first 1000 is super duper hard. Graham’s course talks a lot about using SEO to your advantage so you can match your content to those that are searching for it. One of the best ideas that I like to share is… there are over 7 billion people in the world. There are bound to be people just like you and can relate to you. These are the people who will watch your content because it’s you that’s presenting it. It’s just a matter of finding them. So no need to fake a personality. As for cinematic techniques, there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube on how to take better travel videos or just better b-roll in general. Just search “basic filming techniques” and you get tons of results. Also, I didn’t mention this in my blog… when you enroll in Matt’s course, you get online access to everyone else in his community that has taken his course. This is a community of thousands of other YouTubers who encourage and help each other out. I hope this helps!
2022-07-14 14:38:48 +0000 UTCThanks Thea. I'm slowly building toward 1000, (almost 650 so far in 16 months) but I'm starting to feel like I dont have the presentation pizzazz to really excite people. I feel like I'm giving good information, but my videos are old fashion looking and it's hard to fake a personality that my wife and I may not have. It's a little discouraging, but we're not doing this for a living, we just want to help first time travelers. Most of my views come from dropping links in Facebook groups when someone asks a question. I can give them the answers they need, and they seem to appreciate it, but that doesn't always equal a sub or future views on other topics. It's hard to get someone who liked a video about cruising to then click on "8 Paris tips for the first time visitor". Sorry for the rant, I do get discouraged sometimes. Maybe I do need to try some of those classes you're talking about
Mark Finley
2022-07-14 14:08:14 +0000 UTC
